Can Hotel Transylvania 2 Stop Maze Runner 2 at the Box Office?

After the second biggest summer season in box office history this year, September is proving to be more lucrative than usual. Each weekend this month is up significantly from last year's grosses, and this weekend looks to be no different, with three new movies debuting in wide release, Sony Pictures Animation's Hotel Transylvania 2, Warner Bros.' The Intern and High Top Releasing's The Green Inferno, with the buzzworthy Sicario and Everest also expanding into more theaters. According to the projections from BoxOffice.com, Hotel Transylvania 2 should easily come away with a convincing win, although it's actually tracking less than its predecessor, 2012's Hotel Transylvania.

After debuting in over 500 IMAX theaters last weekend, Everest expands nationwide this weekend. This harrowing thriller that recounts a deadly expedition to Mount Everest in 1996, took in $7.5 million from that limited run when it debuted, so we expect it to take in $13.6 million with the expansion. The film has been getting positive reviews from the nation's critics, with a solid 74% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which is currently higher than the trio of new releases hitting theaters, although Hotel Transylvania 2 doesn't have an official RT score as of yet. Black Mass will round out the top five with $12.4 million.

While we don't have an exact theater count for the critically-acclaimed thriller Sicario yet, its limited release numbers were so impressive last week that it should be able to crack the top 10 this weekend, even though it isn't going nationwide until October 2. Director Denis Villeneuve's film, which boasts an ensemble cast lead by Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro and Josh Brolin, earned a whopping $401,288 last weekend from just six theaters, for an astounding $66,881 per-screen average. That per-screen average will most certainly drop a bit, but we're predicting it should take the sixth spot with $8.2 million. The top 10 will be rounded out by The Visit ($7.8 million), The Perfect Guy ($6.1 million), War Room ($3.4 million) and new release The Green Inferno ($3 million).

Looking ahead to next weekend, 20th Century Fox's The Martian is the only film opening in wide release, although it will contend with Sicario in its nationwide expansion. The Martian has been getting plenty of praise itself leading up to next weekend's release, earning rave reviews after its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this month. Matt Damon leads an all-star cast including Kate Mara, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Sebastian Stan, Sean Bean, Michael Peña, Mackenzie Davis, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Jeff Daniels in this outer space thriller from director Ridley Scott. On the heels of Everest's successful IMAX-only run, The Walk, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, will also debut on Wednesday, September 30 in IMAX, ahead of its nationwide release on October 9. Also opening in limited release is Lionsgate's Freeheld, The Weinstein Company's Shanghai and Well Go USA's Partisan. Be sure to check back on Sunday for the box office estimates, and again next Tuesday for next weekend's predictions. Until then, take a look at our projected top 10 for this weekend at the box office.